Court: Region Can't Relocate Encampment

Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Gibson ruled on May 21 that Waterloo Region cannot force residents from the encampment at 100 Victoria Street North in Kitchener, according to the court’s written decision and local reports. The case centers on a site-specific bylaw the region passed in April 2025 to clear the property for work tied to the planned Kitchener Central Transit Hub. Gibson heard the matter on April 16, 17 and 20, 2026. His decision keeps limits in place on the region’s ability to remove people from the site while the legal fight over the encampment continues. ### Which encampment is covered by the ruling? The property at issue is 100 Victoria Street North, a region-owned site near downtown Kitchener that has been used as an encampment since 2022, according to Waterloo Region Community Legal Services and prior court reporting. The region has said it needs the land for the Kitchener Central Transit Hub, a project CityNews reported at $35 million. In April 2025, Waterloo regional council passed a bylaw that would have cleared the site and, in earlier reporting, set a deadline to vacate the property. (socialrights.ca) The region later amended that bylaw in January 2026, deferring the possession date to April 1, 2026, removing an offence provision and setting out a transition process while court proceedings continued. (wrcls.ca) ### Why was Waterloo Region back in court? Waterloo Region returned to court after trying to proceed under the new site-specific bylaw and transition plan rather than the broader bylaw challenged in earlier litigation. The region asked the court to determine whether the updated framework allowed it to clear the encampment lawfully, according to material posted by Social Rights Advocacy Centre. An earlier ruling from January 2023 by Justice M.J. (cambridgetoday.ca) Valente had found the region could not remove people from the site unless it had enough shelter space for them, citing Charter protections. That earlier judgment shaped the latest dispute, with lawyers for encampment residents arguing that forcing people out again would breach rights to life, liberty and security of the person. ### What did Gibson’s May 21 decision do? (socialrights.ca) The May 21 decision is issued in The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v. Named Respondents and Persons Unknown, cited as 2026 ONSC 2971. The judgment followed a full hearing in April at which the region, named respondents, the attorney general, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Aboriginal Legal Services, the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues and the Mental Health Legal Committee all appeared. (thepublicrecord.ca) Local coverage of the case has reported that Gibson kept the injunction in place while considering whether clearing the site would violate the Charter rights of people living there. Waterloo Region Community Legal Services said after the April hearing that “no one can be forcibly evicted from the site” while the injunction remains in effect. ### What limits does the ruling place on the region? (socialrights.ca) An August 2025 injunction order, reported by CBC and CityNews, barred the region from enforcing the site-specific bylaw before the court could fully consider the case. CityNews reported that the order prevented the region from evicting residents, blocking entry to the encampment, preventing residents from moving temporary shelters within the site, or removing personal belongings. (kitchener.citynews.ca) The region said at the time it would respect the court’s direction and continue supporting people at the site with housing plans and service connections. CityNews reported in April 2026 that the injunction continued to run until Gibson issued his decision. ### How many people were affected? CityNews reported that roughly 35 people lived at the encampment when the region first passed the bylaw in 2025, though the population fluctuated. (cbc.ca) CambridgeToday reported that, as of Jan. 8, 2026, one of the original people residing at the site since April 16 remained there and 25 had been supported by the region into alternative accommodations. Those figures have shifted over time as some residents left and others arrived, but the court fight has remained focused on whether the region can compel the remaining occupants to leave before it can offer lawful alternatives. That position was advanced in court by Waterloo Region Community Legal Services and supported by several interveners listed in the judgment. ### What happens next for the transit-hub site? (kitchener.citynews.ca) The Kitchener Central Transit Hub project was supposed to begin preliminary work in March 2026, according to CityNews and other local reports, but the litigation kept the site from being turned over. The region has said it wants vacant possession of the property so Metrolinx can begin work connected to the hub. As of May 22, 2026, the next step is the parties’ response to Gibson’s May 21 ruling in 2026 ONSC 2971 and any further court directions in the Waterloo case. (socialrights.ca) Waterloo Region Community Legal Services has continued to post case documents and updates on the 100 Victoria Street litigation page naming the region, the respondents and interveners. (kitchener.citynews.ca)